Elliot ready to shine

Six months ago he was a total unknown. Even today, 19-year-old footballer Marvin Elliott lives at home with his parents, with posters of his Arsenal heroes on his bedroom wall.

But tomorrow afternoon the teenager - who has only played 14 professional games - will fulfil his ambition when he lines up for Millwall against Manchester United in the FA Cup Final. "It was always a dream," he told the Evening Standard. "I never for one minute thought it would come true."

It has been a rapid rise for the teenager who grew up in a modest flat in Wandsworth, sharing a bedroom with his 12-year-old sister. The family now live in a three-bedroom home in Norbury. And to celebrate, Elliott has bought his first car - a second-hand Golf.

His football dream began at nine, when his father bought him his first pair of boots. He was captain of the team at the Beatrix Potter Primary School in Wandsworth.

He then went to Ernest Bevin College in Tooting Bec and played for Corinthian Casuals, where he was spotted by Millwall scouts at the age of 13. Three years later he became a YTS trainee with the club, earning £200 a week, and then got his first professional contract.

"Everything has happened so quickly," he said. "But I haven't changed. I keep in contact with my friends from school. We used to dream about playing in the FA Cup. I feel so lucky and so proud."

Elliott began the season playing for Millwall's under-19 team but an injury crisis gave him his chance. His debut against Cardiff in December was stunning and he won a first-team place in midfield. He is now said to earn about £35,000 a year.

Among the 70,000-strong crowd at Cardiff 's Millennium Stadium will be Elliott's parents and sister, and girlfriend Kiera Morrison, the sister of Birmingham City's Clinton Morrison. He said: "I can't wait. It'll probably hit me when I look across in the tunnel at the likes of Roy Keane, Ruud van Nistelrooy and Paul Scholes."

His father, Richard, a printer, said: "Four months ago we were talking about him getting a couple of first-team games. Now he's preparing to play in the FA Cup Final and that alone is something extraordinary."